Roof or wall hatch



Jan. 9, 1962 J. M. MALIK ETAL ROOF OR WALL HATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 10, 1959 Joseph M. Mal/k Fred A. Mali/r Harry .5. McDonaldINVENTORS 405w. flaw; 3M

Jan. 9, 1962 J. M. MALIK ETAL I ROOF OR WALL HATCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed. Feb. 10, 1959 Fig. 4

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Harry S. McDonald M a M M h w w J Fred A. Mal/k 1N VEN TORS I UnitedStates Patent Oflfice 3,016,238 Patented Jan. 9, 1962 3,il16,238 RGUF RWALL HATCH Joseph M. Malilr, Fred A. Malik, and Harry S. McDonaid, allof Iii). Box 751, Toccoa, Ga. Filed Feb. 19, 1953, Ser. No. 792,335 3Claims. (Cl. 268-402) The present invention generally relates to a hatchin a roof or wall of a building structure and more particularly to acover for such a hatch so that the cover will be retained in closedposition by a locking device which is releasable by operation of asuitable operating rod so that the hatch cover may be released andopened simultaneously by a single movement of an operating rod or thelike so that access may be had to the interior of the building structurefor purposes of conveying material into the building structure orremoving the same.

In building structures such as grain bins, tanks, or the like, there isnormally provided an outside opening in the roof or side wall for thepurpose of filling or excavating the same by use of an auger conveyor,air conveyor, shovel, belt conveyor or any other mechanical or manualmanner. These openings are provided with covers which must necessarilybe held in position to provide a rain-proof structure and also the covermust be held in position against the action of the wind. A furthernecessity is the provision of the cover which may be easily removed whenit is desired. Therefore, it is the primary object of the presentinvention to provide a hatch cover which will be securely and positivelylocked upon application of forces on the hatch cover itself but whichmay be easily opened by application of force to an operating linkage byemploying an operation rod or the like.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a hatch inaccordance with the preceding objects which is extremely simple inconstruction, easy to use, easy to install, effective in operation andrelatively inexpensive to manufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinar'ter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the hatch of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation illustrating two positions of the hatch andoperating linkage including an intermediate position and a fully openedposition;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passingalong section line 33 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is, a side elevation of the structure;

FIGURE 5 is a plan sectional view taken substantially upon a planepassing along section line -55 of FIGURE 2 illustrating the structuralrelationship of the component parts; and

FIGURE 6 is an exploded group perspective view illustrating the linkagemechanism for operating the hatch cover.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 generallydesignates the hatch of the present invention which includes an enlargedpanel 12 which may be mounted on the roof in any suitable manner andwhich may be a part of the roof or the part of the wall of a buildingstructure. 'The panel 12 is constructed to fit the materialof the roof.For example, panel 12 would have roofing or it may be corrugated 0r flatto fit built up roofs, paper, composition or like materials. The panel12 is provided with an enlarged opening 14 defined by an upstandingperipheral flange 16 which may 7 be of any suitable construction butwhich ispreferably of square or rectangular configuration. The panel 12and flange 16 are Welded thereby eliminating the possibility of leakageoccurring at the juncture between panel 12 and flange 16 which is animportant feature. A

closure plate 18 is provided for the flange 16 and the coverplate 18 isprovided with aclepending flange 20 telescopic over the upper end of theflange 16 thereby providing a closure for the enlarged opening 14.

The cover 18 is hingedly attached to the flange 16 by a pair of hingebrackets 22 .each having a pair of hinge barrels 24 thereon forreceiving a hinge barrel 26 therebetween. The hinge barrel 26 is formedon the lower edge of the flange 2i} and a hinge 'pin 28 retains thehinge barrel 24 and 26 in assembled relation thereby hingedly attachingthe cover to the flange 16.

At the edges of the cover 18 adjacent the hinges, there is provided agenerally rectangular depen ding and rearwardly extending plate 30 whichhas an inclined forward edge 32 and an aperture 34 at the lower outercorner. The plate 30 is secured to the cover 18 and the flange 20 by anysuitable means such aswelding or the like.

Hingedly connected to the lower rear corner of the plate 30 is a link 36having an aperture 38 in one end thereof receiving a hinge pin 40 whichalso extends through the apertures 34 thereby hingedly attaching thelink 36 to the plate 30. V

The flange 16 is provided with a projecting stud 42 forwardly of theforward end of the plate 30 and an elongated operating lever 44 ishingedly attached-to the stud 42 by a fastening bolt 46 which is in theform of a pivot bolt. The upper end of the lever 44 extends upwardly andgenerally towards the plate 30 and is provided with an opening 48 in theupper end thereof for attachment to an operating rod or the like 50.Rigidly attached to the lever 44 adjacent the lower end thereof is anoifset arm 52 which connects to the free end of the link 36 by a pivotpin 54 which will pivotally and slidably interconnect the adjacent endsof the arm 52' and link 36 so that the arm and link may move from theposition illustrated in FIGURE 1 to and from the positions illustratedin FIGURE 2.

For preventing forces applied to the cover 18 from raising the cover 18,there is provided a stop lug 56 secured to the panel 12 so that the freeend of-the link 36 will engage the same when the link 36 is in its lowerposition when the cover 18 is closed. This condition is illustrated inFIGURE 1 with the free end of the link 36 abutting the stop lug 56. Inview of the spaced relation between the point of pivotal connection ofthe link 36 to the plate 30 and the pivot axis formed by.

the ing 56 so that the free end of the link 36 will move.

from behind the lug 36 with subsequent movement of the arm 52 causingpivoting movement of the cover 18 to an open position due to spacingbetween the'pivotal point of connectionbetween the link 36 and the hingepins 28. v r

Thus, with the present invention, the cover.18 is normally locked in aclosed position to prevent opening thereof until such time as theoperating lever 44 is activated. By providing a rigid operating rod 50,the cover I 18 may be both raised and closed and locked from a positionremote from the hatch thusfacilitating the open ing and closing andlocking thereof. V

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the and plate 30principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalentsrnay be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A hatch for a building structure comprising an enlarged panel havingan upstanding peripheral wall defining an opening, a cover for the freeedge of said wall, means hingedly connecting the cover to the Wall, alink connected to said cover in spaced relation to the hinge axis of thecover, an abutment stationarily mounted on said panel and disposed inthe path of movement of the free end of the link for preventinglongitudinal movement of the link when the free end of the link is inengagement with the panel thereby preventing pivotal movement of thecover towards an open position until the free end of the link iselevated, and means for raising the free end of said link, said raisingmeans including a linkage mechanism having an elongated operating memberfor raising the link from a remote position and for applying tension tothe link for pivoting the cover to an open position, said linkagemechanism including a substantially L-shaped member having the apexthereof pivoted to the wall, one leg of said L-shaped member beingdefined by the elongated operating member, the other leg having the freeend thereof pivotally and slidably attached to the link adjacent thefree end thereof and the other end thereof rigidly attached to saidelongated operating member, whereby initial movement of the operatingmember will effect lifting movement of the link out of engagement withthe abutment and subsequent movement of the member will cause pivotalmovement of the cover about the axis of pivotal movement thereof due tothe spacing between the axis of pivotal movement of the cover and thepoint of attachment of the link to the cover.

2. A gravity closure for an opening in a horizontal panel comprising aclosure member pivotally supported along one edge thereof for swingingmovement in a vertical plane, an. arm pivotally connected to said memberin spaced relation to the pivotal axis for free swinging movement in avertical plane, said horizontal panel limiting the downward movement ofthe free end of said arm and providing a sliding surface therefor, avertical stop lug mounted on the panel and disposed in the path ofmovement of the free end of the arm when the arm is engaged with thepanel thereby preventing opening movement of the closure member withoutfirst moving the free end of the arm above said stop lug, and bellcrankmeans connected to the arm for raising the arm out of engagement withthe stop lug.

3. The structure as defined in claim 2 wherein said last named meansincludes a generally L-shaped lever pivotally supported at the apexthereof, the free end of one leg of said lever being pivotally andslidably connected to the arm in spaced relation to the free end thereoffor initially lifting the arm free of the lug without exertinglongitudinal force thereon and then exerting longitudinal force thereonfor opening the closure member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,549,713 Chafiey Aug. 11, 1925

